Argumentative Essay: Guns Do NOT Kill People :: Argumentative Persuasive Gun Control

Many stories like the following occur, but are hardly every published: Three robbers entered a Commerce City, Colo., residence, one of them pulled a knife, according to officials. The two men and a woman apparently had planned to rob an acquaintance: but the homeowner resisted the threat, drawing his semiautomatic handgun and shooting the two men. After the three fled, they called for medical help from a cousin's house. The police followed shortly thereafter. "As soon as they get out of the hospital, we'll be there to meet and greet them," said Sgt. Craig Coleman of the Adams County Sheriff's Dept. (rifleman) These are two of many different stories that are produced monthly by the magazine American Rifleman. Every issue gives 4 to 7 stories on how handgun's save lives everyday. There are many people who believe that a handgun can save your life, but there also people who believe that they are just used for bad guys to kill. The Constitution states that we have the right to keep and bare arms, but there are some groups that have decided that is not right. They will do whatever it takes to change Amendment 2. This year there was a new gun law added to the long list of gun laws. In Colorado and Oregon the law was passed with a huge margin. The law states that you can not buy a gun at a gun show without a background check, and for it to be a gun show there only needs to be 3 or more people. So, in other words many of the police officers in the world will now be breaking the law when the switch guns with other officers. For instance, there are four officers standing around at the police station, and a couple of them decided to try out each others gun for a day or two. Under this new law, the officers have now broken the law. Many gun owners say there is no need for this new law. The NRA and many other pro-gun groups did everything they could try and make sense of it to people. Even after spending almost 2 million dollars, they still failed. (Kleck). Sarah Brady, Chair of Handgun Control, Inc, was quoted when she said, " These two overwhelming victories clearly demonstrate that al l Americans, including gun owners, support responsible gun laws which keep criminals from buying guns.

Interpersonal and Transferable Skills Essay

You’re probably familiar with the phrase ‘what gets measured gets done.’ Defining and measuring effectiveness – especially the performance of workers – is a critical part of your job as a manager. The question is: How do you define the skills, behaviors, and attitudes that workers need to perform their roles effectively? How do you know they’re qualified for the job? In other words, how do you know what to measure? Some people think formal education is a reliable measure. Others believe more in on-the-job training, and years of experience. Still others might argue that personal characteristics hold the key to effective work behavior. All of these are important, but none seems sufficient to describe an ideal set of behaviors and traits needed for any particular role. Nor do they guarantee that individuals will perform to the standards and levels required by the organization. A more complete way of approaching this is to link individual performance to the goals of the business. To do this, many companies use ‘competencies.’ These are the integrated knowledge, skills, judgment, and attributes that people need to perform a job effectively. By having a defined set of competencies for each role in your business, it shows workers the kind of behaviors the organization values, and which it requires to help achieve its objectives. Not only can your team members work more effectively and achieve their potential, but there are many business benefits to be had from linking personal performance with corporate goals and values. Defining which competencies are necessary for success in your organization can help you do the following: †¢ Ensure that your people demonstrate sufficient expertise. †¢ Recruit and select new staff more effectively. †¢ Evaluate performance more effectively. †¢ Identify skill and competency gaps more efficiently. †¢ Provide more customized training and professional development. †¢ Plan sufficiently for succession. †¢ Make change management processes work more efficiently. How can you define the set of practices needed for effective performance? You can do this by adding a competency framework to your talent management program. By collecting and combining competency information, you can create a standardized approach to performance that’s clear and accessible to everyone in the company. The framework outlines specifically what people need to do to be effective in their roles, and it clearly establishes how their roles relate to organizational goals and success. This article outlines the steps you need to take to develop a competency framework in your organization. Design Principles of a Competency Framework A competency framework defines the knowledge, skills, and attributes needed for people within an organization. Each individual role will have its own set of competencies needed to perform the job effectively. To develop this framework, you need to have an in-depth understanding of the roles within your business. To do this, you can take a few different approaches: †¢ Use a pre-set list of common, standard competencies, and then customize it to the specific needs of your organization. †¢ Use outside consultants to develop the framework for you. †¢ Create a general organizational framework, and use it as the basis for other frameworks as needed. Developing a competency framework can take considerable effort. To make sure the framework is actually used as needed, it’s important to make it relevant to the people who’ll be using it – and so they can take ownership of it. The following three principles are critical when designing a competency framework: 1. Involve the people doing the work – These frameworks should not be developed solely by HR people, who don’t always know what each job actually involves. Nor should they be left to managers, who don’t always understand exactly what each member of their staff does every day. To understand a role fully, you have to go to the source – the person doing the job – as well as getting a variety of other inputs into what makes someone successful in that job. 2. Communicate – People tend to get nervous about performance issues. Let them know why you’re developing the framework, how it will be created, and how you’ll use it. The more you communicate in advance, the easier your implementation will be. 3. Use relevant competencies – Ensure that the competencies you include apply to all roles covered by the framework. If you include irrelevant competencies, people will probably have a hard time relating to the framework in general. For example, if you created a framework to cover the whole organization, then financial management would not be included unless every worker had to demonstrate that skill. However, a framework covering management roles would almost certainly involve the financial management competency. Developing the Framework There are four main steps in the competency framework development process. Each steps has key actions that will encourage people to accept and use the final product. Step One: Prepare †¢ Define the purpose – Before you start analyzing jobs, and figuring out what each role needs for success, make sure you look at the purpose for creating the framework. How you plan to use it will impact whom you involve in preparing it, and how you determine its scope. For example, a framework for filling a job vacancy will be very specific, whereas a framework for evaluating compensation will need to cover a wide range of roles. †¢ Create a competency framework team – Include people from all areas of your business that will use the framework. Where possible, aim to represent the diversity of your organization. It’s also important to think about long-term needs, so that you can keep the framework updated and relevant. Step Two: Collect Information This is the main part of the framework. Generally, the better the data you collect, the more accurate your framework will be. For this reason, it’s a good idea to consider which techniques you’ll use to collect information about the roles, and the work involved in each one. You may want to use the following: †¢ Observe – Watch people while they’re performing their roles. This is especially useful for jobs that involve hands-on labor that you can physically observe. †¢ Interview people – Talk to every person individually, choose a sample of people to interview, or conduct a group interview. You may also want to interview the supervisor of the job you’re assessing. This helps you learn what a wide variety of people believe is needed for the role’s success. †¢ Create a questionnaire – A survey is an efficient way to gather data. Spend time making sure you ask the right questions, and consider the issues of reliability and validity. If you prefer, there are standardized job analysis questionnaires you can buy, rather than attempting to create your own. †¢ Analyze the work – Which behaviors are used to perform the jobs covered by the framework? You may want to consider the following: †¢ Business plans, strategies, and objectives. †¢ Organizational principles. †¢ Job descriptions. †¢ Regulatory or other compliance issues. †¢ Predictions for the future of the organization or industry. †¢ Customer and supplier requirements. Job analysis that includes a variety of techniques and considerations will give you the most comprehensive and accurate results. If you create a framework for the entire organization, make sure you use a sample of roles from across the company. This will help you capture the widest range of competencies that are still relevant to the whole business. †¢ As you gather information about each role, record what you learn in separate behavioral statements. For example, if you learn that Paul from accounting is involved in bookkeeping, you might break that down into these behavioral statements: handles petty cash, maintains floats, pays vendors according to policy, and analyzes cash books each month. You might find that other roles also have similar tasks – and therefore bookkeeping will be a competency within that framework. †¢ When you move on to Step Three, you’ll be organizing the information into larger competencies, so it helps if you can analyze and group your raw data effectively. Step Three: Build the Framework This stage involves grouping all of the behaviors and skill sets into competencies. Follow these steps to help you with this task: †¢ Group the statements – Ask your team members to read through the behavior statements, and group them into piles. The goal is to have three or four piles at first – for instance, manual skills, decision-making and judgment skills, and interpersonal skills. †¢ Create subgroups – Break down each of the larger piles into subcategories of related behaviors. Typically, there will be three or four subgroupings for each larger category. This provides the basic structure of the competency framework. †¢ Refine the subgroups – For each of the larger categories, define the subgroups even further. Ask yourself why and how the behaviors relate, or don’t relate, to one another, and revise your groupings as necessary. †¢ Indentify and name the competencies – Ask your team to identify a specific competency to represent each of the smaller subgroups of behaviors. Then they can also name the larger category. †¢ Here’s an example of groupings and subgroupings for general management competencies: †¢ Supervising and leading teams. †¢ Provide ongoing direction and support to staff. †¢ Take initiative to provide direction. †¢ Communicate direction to staff. †¢ Monitor performance of staff. †¢ Motivate staff. †¢ Develop succession plan. †¢ Ensure that company standards are met. †¢ Recruiting and staffing. †¢ Prepare job descriptions and role specifications. †¢ Participate in selection interviews. †¢ Identify individuals’ training needs. †¢ Implement disciplinary and grievance procedures. †¢ Ensure that legal obligations are met. †¢ Develop staff contracts. †¢ Develop salary scales and compensation packages. †¢ Develop personnel management procedures. †¢ Make sure staff resources meet organizational needs. †¢ Training and development. †¢ Deliver training to junior staff. †¢ Deliver training to senior staff. †¢ Identify training needs. †¢ Support personal development. †¢ Develop training materials and methodology. †¢ Managing projects/programs †¢ Prepare detailed operational plans. †¢ Manage financial and human resources. †¢ Monitor overall performance against objectives. †¢ Write reports, project proposals, and amendments. †¢ Understand external funding environment. †¢ Develop project/program strategy. You may need to add levels for each competency. This is particularly useful when using the framework for compensation or performance reviews. To do so, take each competency, and divide the related behaviors into measurement scales according to complexity, responsibility, scope, or other relevant criteria. These levels may already exist if you have job grading in place. †¢ Validate and revise the competencies as necessary – For each item, ask these questions: †¢ Is this behavior demonstrated by people who perform the work most effectively? In other words, are people who don’t demonstrate this behavior ineffective in the role? †¢ Is this behavior relevant and necessary for effective work performance? These questions are often asked in the form of a survey. It’s important to look for consensus among the people doing the job, as well as areas where there’s little agreement. Also, look for possible issues with language, or the way the competencies are described, and refine those as well. Step Four: Implement As you roll out the finalized competency framework, remember the principle of communication that we mentioned earlier. To help get buy-in from members of staff at all levels of the organization, it’s important to explain to them why the framework was developed, and how you’d like it to be used. Discuss how it will be updated, and which procedures you’ve put in place to accommodate changes. Here are some tips for implementing the framework: †¢ Link to business objectives – Make connections between individual competencies and organizational goals and values as much as possible. †¢ Reward the competencies – Check that your policies and practices support and reward the competencies identified. †¢ Provide coaching and training – Make sure there’s adequate coaching and training available. People need to know that their efforts will be supported. †¢ Keep it simple – Make the framework as simple as possible. You want the document to be used, not filed away and forgotten. †¢ Communicate – Most importantly, treat the implementation as you would any other change initiative. The more open and honest you are throughout the process, the better the end result – and the better the chances of the project achieving your objectives. [pic] Key Points Creating a competency framework is an effective method to assess, maintain, and monitor the knowledge, skills, and attributes of people in your organization. The framework allows you to measure current competency levels to make sure your staff members have the expertise needed to add value to the business. It also helps managers make informed decisions about talent recruitment, retention, and succession strategies. And, by identifying the specific behaviors and skills needed for each role, it enables you to budget and plan for the training and development your company really needs. The process of creating a competency framework is long and complex. To ensure a successful outcome, involve people actually doing carrying out the roles to evaluate real jobs, and describe real behaviors.

Apple Pay Free Essay Example, 2000 words

This is a flagship mobile payment service that was rolled out by the tech giant in October 2014 to allow particular smartphone users to make payments using their devices in various retail stores. Precisely, it is available for use by those that have iPhone 6, 6s, 6s plus, 7, 7 plus and SE. with these devices, there is an NFC chip that has been attached and it helps users from specific countries to pay for goods and services in selected retail stores. With just a screen touch, a user is capable of making payments using their debit and credit cards in a convenient and safe way since the credit card details are not shared by Apple to any third party. Besides iPhones, the service also works with the Apple watch, making it one of the most versatile mobile payment solutions in the world today. Whereas it has not spread to a significant number of countries, Apple pay has recorded a lot of success in nations such as China, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, Spain, Russia and the United States (Macworld, 2016). In multiple press releases, the CEO has confessed that over one million new users are subscribing to the service each week and it will soon be available on the web such that users that have no access to the iOS operating system can benefit from the service as well. Benefits of Apple PayIt is highly secureThis is an advantage that is enjoyed by both individual users and e-commerce businesses. We will write a custom essay sample on Apple Pay or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/page

Buji - Japanese Word of the Day

Learn a Japanese word every day. Todays word is buji. Click here to check out more Word of the Day. Word of the Day buji Pronunciation Click here to listen to the audio file. Meaning safety; security; peace; quietness Japanese characters ç„ ¡Ã¤ ºâ€¹ 㠁 ¶Ã£ Ëœ Example Shinamono wa zenbu bujini tsukimashita.å“ Ã§â€° ©Ã£  ¯Ã¥â€¦ ¨Ã©Æ' ¨Ã§â€ž ¡Ã¤ ºâ€¹Ã£  «Ã§ â‚¬Ã£  Ã£  ¾Ã£ â€"㠁Ÿã€‚ Translation All the goods arrived in good order. Subscription Click here to subscribe to Japanese Word of the Day. Each day you will receive a new word with definition, pronunciation and example sentences.

Against Animal Experimentation Essay - 1700 Words

Against Animal Experimentation Imagine having a headache and not having aspirin to take, or being diabetic and not being able to take certain types of insulin (Williams 3). It seems impossible that these drugs could be unavailable to humans, but they would not be attainable had scientists not tested these drugs on non-animal subjects. Contrary to what many people believe, testing drugs on animals often give defective results. â€Å"More than 205,000 new drugs are marketed worldwide every year, most undergo the most archaic and unreliable testing methods still in use: animal studies† (PETA 1). Although animals may seem the like ideal specimens for testing new drugs, the experiments are untrustworthy and can cause unknown side effects.†¦show more content†¦Furthermore, animal experimentation can keep effective drugs off of the market. It’s very possible that many drugs that have been tested on animals were found to be deadly or involved serious side effects but if tested on humans could have b een found to successfully cure or treat a specific disease. Even though animals sometimes have the same reactions to a disease or drug as humans do, usually the animals experience much different effects. There is also no way for experimenters to notice psychological effects on the animals; and the animals can’t tell experimenters how they feel and what they are experiencing. Animals cannot communicate through words so their frightened voices go unheard. Brettner -3- Physical side effects can be different because humans and lab animals are different species. Animal testing fails to forecast the majority of human adverse drug reactions, which in turn causes almost 5% of all hospital admissions and occur in 10-20% of hospital in-patients (PETA 3). These inaccuracies in animal experimentation can be blamed for many deaths. For example, milrinone, a drug that raises cardiac output, increased survival of rats with artificially induced heart failure. But humans taking this drug who had severe chronic heart failure had a 30% increase in death (PETA1). A rat is different than a pig, which is different than a human. Since every species has their own differences, it is hard to predict any side effects that will occur in allShow MoreRelatedArgument Against Animal Experimentation : Peter Singer And Tom Regan1035 Words   |  5 PagesExperimentation on animals has been a controversial issue for hundreds of years and is still a major issue today. However, we have continued to experiment on animals to test the effects of products such as makeup. Both Peter Singer and Tom Regan would have strong opinions against this experimentation, but they would also have different ways of expressing their view on the topic. They have expressed that animals should be considered to a certain extent that humans and other animals should be treatedRead MoreAnimal Experimentation And Its Effects On Human Life And Survival965 Words   |  4 PagesInstructor Miguel Marrero English 1302 September 18, 2014 Animal Experimentation The various experiments are performed on living animals especially to test the effects of chemical compounds such as new drugs, cosmetics, food additives and pesticides. The application of animals to test a large number of products from household compounds and cosmetics to pharmaceutical has been considered to be a normal strategy for many years. Animal experimentation has existed since ancient times and contributed to humanRead MoreThe Use Of Scientific Testing On Animals1503 Words   |  7 Pageshumans have used animals as means of learning more about the world. The first known vivisection was done by a Greek philosopher, Alcmaeon, in 450 B. C. E (â€Å"Animal Testing† NP). 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Night World Spellbinder Chapter 11 Free Essays

string(23) " A geyser of loathing\." I don’t understand,† Eric said pitifully as Thea towed him toward the bleachers. â€Å"Well, that’s reasonable.† â€Å"Blaise wants to talk to me alone and you want me to do it. We will write a custom essay sample on Night World : Spellbinder Chapter 11 or any similar topic only for you Order Now † â€Å"That’s right.† Thea hadn’t realized it was possible to sound bright and bleak at the same time. â€Å"I told you she’d probably go after you-â€Å" â€Å"And you told me to be careful of her. You made the point very strongly.† â€Å"I know. It’s just†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Thea searched for an explanation that wouldn’t be too much of a lie and clutched her bottle of Evian water. She didn’t need to ask him if he had the protective charm with him- she could smell New Hampshire pine needles. â€Å"It’s just that I think it’s better to get things settled,† she said finally. â€Å"One way or the other. So maybe if you talk to her face-to-face†¦ well, you can decide what you want, and we can get this over with.† â€Å"Thea†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Eric stopped, forcing Thea to stop, too. He looked completely bewildered. â€Å"Thea-I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I don’t need to talk to Blaise to know what I want.† He put his hands gently on her upper arms. â€Å"Nothing she can say could make any difference.† Thea looked at him, at his clean, good features and his expressive eyes. He thought things were so simple. â€Å"Then you can just tell her that,† she said, trying to sound optimistic. â€Å"And the whole thing will be resolved.† Eric shook his head, but allowed her to guide him onward. Blaise was leaning against a concrete dugout by the baseball diamond. When they were about ten feet away, Thea stopped and nodded at Eric to keep going. He walked to Blaise, who slowly straightened with the leisurely grace of a snake uncoiling. Thea put her thumb into the Evian bottle and jiggled it gently. â€Å"Thea said you wanted to talk to me.† Eric’s voice was polite, but not encouraging. He looked back at Thea after he said it. â€Å"I did,† Blaise said in her liquid, persuasive voice. But to Thea’s surprise, she addressed the ground, as if she felt awkward. â€Å"But now†¦ well, I feel so embarrassed. I know what you probably think of me-trying to say something like this while your girlfriend is standing there.† â€Å"Well†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Eric glanced back at Thea again. â€Å"It’s okay,† he added, his voice softer. â€Å"I mean, it’s better to say whatever it is in front of her than behind her back.† â€Å"Yes. Yes, that’s true.† Blaise took a deep breath as if steeling herself and then lifted her head to meet Eric’s eyes. What on earth is she doing? Thea stared at her cousin. Where did this scene come from? â€Å"Eric†¦ I don’t know how to say this, but†¦ I care about you. I know how that sounds. You’re thinking that I have dozens of guys, and the way I treat them I can’t possibly care about any of them. And I don’t blame you if you just want to walk away right now, without even listening to any more.† Blaise fiddled with the zipper at her throat. â€Å"Oh, look, I’m not going to walk away. I wouldn’t do that to you,† Eric said, and his voice was even more gentle. â€Å"Thank you. You’re being so nice-much nicer than I deserve.† Absently, as if it were the most casual of gestures, Blaise reached for the zipper at her throat and pulled it down. The necklace was revealed. Don’t look directly at it, Thea told herself. She stared instead at the back of Eric’s sandy head-which suddenly went very still. â€Å"And you know, this is going to sound strange, but most of those boys don’t really like me.† Blaise’s voice was soft now-seductive but vulnerable. â€Å"They just-want me. They look at the surface, and never even try to see any deeper. And that makes me feel†¦ so lonely sometimes.† In Thea’s peripheral vision, gold stars and moons were shifting and flowing. Yemonja root and other delicious scents wafted toward her. She hadn’t even noticed that the first time; she’d been too deep in the necklace’s spell to analyze it. And a faint, high resonance hung in the air-two or three notes that seemed to shimmer almost above the threshold of hearing. Singing crystals. Of course. Blaise was assaulting every sense, weaving an inescapable golden web†¦ and the whole thing was tuned to Eric’s blood. â€Å"All I’ve ever wanted is a guy who cares enough about me to look deeper than the surface.† Blaise’s voice had a slight catch now. â€Å"And-well, before I knew Thea liked you, I guess I thought you might be that guy. Eric, please tell me-is that completely impossible? Should I just totally give up hope? Because if you say so, I will.† Eric was standing oddly now, as if he were crippled. Thea could see his breath coming faster. She didn’t want to see his face-she knew what it would be like. Like Luke’s. Blank wonder changing into slow adulation for Blaise. â€Å"Just tell me,† Blaise said, raising one hand in a gesture full of pathos. â€Å"And if you say no, I’ll go away forever. But if†¦ if you think you could care about me†¦ even just a little†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She gazed at him with luminous, yearning eyes. â€Å"I†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Eric’s voice was thick and hesitant. â€Å"I†¦ Blaise†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He couldn’t seem to get started on a sentence. And no wonder. He’s lost already. Certainty hit Thea, and she stopped shaking her plastic bottle. Her little Elixir of Abhorrence didn’t stand a chance against Blaise’s magic. Eric was hooked and Blaise was reeling him in. And it wasn’t his fault. Nobody could be expected to hold out against the kind of enchantment Blaise was using. Enchantment and psychology so beautifully mixed that even Thea found herself half believing Blaise’s story. But she had to try anyway. She couldn’t let Eric go without a fight. With one final, violent shake, Thea took her thumb out of the bottle neck. Colorless liquid skyrocketed, spraying up and then raining down on Eric. A geyser of loathing. You read "Night World : Spellbinder Chapter 11" in category "Essay examples" Only one thing went wrong. As soon as the mysterious downpour hit Eric, he turned to see where it was coming from. Instead of looking at Blaise when the elixir soaked into his skin, he was looking at Thea. She stared back into his gray-flecked eyes with a kind of horror. Twice. He’d been twice enchanted now, once to love Blaise and once to hate her. Oh, Eileithyia, it’s over†¦. It was a crisis, and Thea responded instinctively. She reached for Eric, to save him, to be saved herself. She flung out a thought the way she’d fling out a hand to someone going over a cliff. Eric. A connection†¦ Like dosing a circuit-and that was all it took. Thea felt a wave of†¦ something, something hot and sweet, more magical than Blaise’s magic. Distilled lightning, maybe. The air between her and Eric was so charged that she felt as though her skin was being brushed with velvet. It was like being at the intersection of cosmic force lines. And it was all okay. Eric’s face was his ordinary face. Alive, alert, full of warmth-for her. Not zombie worship for Blaise. Thea. It can’t be this simple. But it was. She and Eric were staring at each other in the quivering air and the universe was just one big singing crystal. We’re right together. A yell shattered the silent communion. Thea looked toward the dugout and saw that Blaise the vulnerable had disappeared. â€Å"I’m wet,† Blaise shrieked. â€Å"Are you crazy? Do you have any idea what water drops do to silk?† Thea opened her mouth, then shut it again. She felt giddy with the sweetness of relief. She had no idea if Blaise really thought the elixir was only water-but one thing was clear. However strong Blaise’s spell had been, it was broken now. And Blaise knew it. Blaise jerked the zipper up and stalked off. â€Å"She’s mad,† Eric said. â€Å"Well†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Thea was still dizzy. â€Å"I told you she likes getting mad.† She took Eric’s arm, very gently, and partly to steady herself. â€Å"Let’s go.† They’d only gone a few steps when Eric said, â€Å"Thank God you hit me with that water.† â€Å"Yes.† Even if the elixir hadn’t worked it had somehow broken Eric’s concentration or distracted Blaise or something. She’d have to see if she could figure out what had happened to disrupt a spell as potent as the one Blaise had created†¦. â€Å"Yeah, because, you know, it was getting really awkward,† Eric went on. â€Å"I kept trying to think of a polite way to tell her there wasn’t a chance, but I couldn’t. And just when I realized I was going to have to say it and hurt her feelings-well, you soaked us.† Thea stopped dead. She stared at him. He was serious. â€Å"I mean-I know I hurt her feelings anyway. Or she wouldn’t have gone away mad. Uh, are you mad now? Thea?† She started walking again. â€Å"Are you saying you didn’t even want to be with her? Not even just a little?† He stopped. â€Å"How could I want to be with her when I want to be with you? I told you that before this whole thing started.† Maybe it’s because we’re soulmates. Maybe it’s because he’s so stubborn. But, whatever, I’d better never tell Blaise. She’ll have a whole new reason for killing him if she finds out her spell bounced off like water off a duck. â€Å"Well, anyway, it’s resolved now,† she murmured-and at that moment she really believed it. She was too happy to think about anything dreadful. â€Å"Is it? Does that mean that we can finally go out? Like on a date?† He sounded so wistful that Thea laughed. She felt light and free and full of energy. â€Å"Yeah. We could go right now. Or†¦ we could go in. Your house, I mean. I’d like to see your sister and Madame Curie again.† Eric made an â€Å"ouch† face. â€Å"Well, Madame Curie would probably like that. But Roz lost her case- the court ruled that the Boy Trekkers are a private organization. And she is not-pardon the pun-a happy camper.† â€Å"All the more reason we should go see her. Poor kid.† Eric looked at her quizzically. â€Å"You’re serious? You have a choice of anywhere in Las Vegas and you’d like to go to my house?† â€Å"Why not?† Thea didn’t mention that a human house was more exotic to her than anywhere else in Vegas. She was happy. It turned out to be a modest frame house, shaded by a couple of honest-to-goodness trees, not palms. Thea felt a twinge of shyness as they went inside. â€Å"Mom’s still at work. And†-Eric checked his watch-â€Å"Roz is supposed to be in her room until five. Home detention. This morning she microwaved her Barbie dolls.† â€Å"That doesn’t sound good for the microwave.† Rosamund’s door was plastered with homemade Signs. DO NOT ENTER. KEEP OUT AND THIS MEANS ERIC. FEMINISM IS THE RADICAL NOTION THAT WOMEN ARE PEOPLE. When Eric opened the door a piggy bank shaped like a skunk came flying toward him. He ducked. It hit the wall and, amazingly, didn’t break. â€Å"Roz-â€Å" â€Å"I hate everybody! And everybody hates me!† A hardback book came soaring. Eric shut the door fast. Bang. â€Å"Everybody doesn’t hate you!† he yelled. â€Å"Well, I hate them! Go away!† Bang. Bang. Crash. â€Å"I think maybe we’d better leave her alone,† Eric said. â€Å"She gets a little moody sometimes. Want to see my room?† His room was nice, Thea decided. Lots of books, some smelling of mildew-â€Å"I get them at the used book stores.† Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy. Development and Structure of the Fetal Pig. The Red Pony. Most of them were about animals in some form or other. And lots of trophies. Baseball trophies, basketball trophies, a few tennis trophies. â€Å"I have to switch between baseball and tennis different years.† Sports equipment was scattered carelessly around, mixed with the books and some dirty socks. Not so different from a teenager’s room in the Night World. Just a person’s room. There was a picture of a man on the desk, a man with sandy hair and a glorious, lightning-bolt smile like Eric’s. â€Å"Who is it?† â€Å"My dad. He died when Roz was little-a plane crash. He was a pilot.† Eric said it simply, but his eyes went dark. Thea said softly, â€Å"My parents died when I was little, too. What’s sad is that I don’t really remember them.† Eric looked at the picture again. â€Å"You know, I never thought about it, but I’m glad I do remember. At least we had him that long.† They smiled at each other. By the bed was a tank that gave off a pleasant percolating sound. Thea sat next to it and watched iridescent blue fish dart around. She turned off the bedside lamp to see the lighted tank better. â€Å"You like it?† â€Å"I like everything,† Thea said. She looked at him. â€Å"Everything.† Eric blinked. He eyed the bed Thea was sitting on, then slowly sat at the desk. He stuck out a casual elbow to lean on and papers showered to the floor. â€Å"Oops.† Thea stifled a laugh. â€Å"Is that the U.C. Davis application?† He looked up hopefully from gathering them. â€Å"It sure is. Want to see it?† Thea almost said yes. She was in such a cheerful mood, ready to agree to anything, be open to anything. But a moment of thought changed her mind. Some things were just going too far. â€Å"Not right now, thanks.† â€Å"Well†¦Ã¢â‚¬ He put the papers back. â€Å"You know, you still might think about transferring to the zoology class at school. Ms. Gasparro is a great teacher. And you’d really like what we’re studying.† Maybe I could, Thea thought. What would it hurt? â€Å"And if you were ever interested. Dr. Salinger is always looking for extra help. It doesn’t pay much, but it’s good experience.† And†¦ what would that hurt? It’s not as if I would be breaking any laws. I wouldn’t have to use any powers, either, I could just be close to the animals. â€Å"I’ll think about it,† she said. She could hear the suppressed excitement in her own voice. She looked at Eric, who was sitting with his elbows on his knees, leaning forward, watching her earnestly. â€Å"And- thanks,† she said softly. â€Å"For what?† â€Å"For†¦ wanting the best for me. For caring.† The light from the fish tank threw wavering blue patterns on the walls and ceiling. It made the bedroom seem like its own little underwater world. It danced over Thea’s skin. Eric stared at her. Then he swallowed and shut his eyes. With his eyes still shut, he said in a muted voice, â€Å"I don’t think you know how much I care.† Then he looked at her. That connection again. It seemed to be drawing them together-an almost physical feeling of attraction. It was exciting, but scary. Eric got up very slowly and crossed the room. He sat by Thea. Neither of them looked away. And then things just seemed to happen by themselves. Their fingers were intertwined. Thea was looking up and he was looking down. They were so close that their breath mingled. Thea shivered with the electricity. Everything seemed wrapped in a golden haze. Crash. Something hit the other side of the wall. â€Å"Ignore it; it’s poltergeists,† Eric murmured. His lips were an inch from hers. â€Å"It’s Rosamund,† Thea murmured back. â€Å"She feels bad-and it’s not really fair. We should try and make her feel better.† She was so happy that she wanted everyone else to be happy, too. Eric groaned. â€Å"Thea†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Let me just go see if I can cheer her up. I’ll come back.† Eric shut his eyes, opened them, and turned on the lamp. He gave her a pained smile. â€Å"Okay. I have to water Mom’s outside plants and feed the rabbits and stuff, anyway. Let me know when she’s cheered up enough. I’ll be waiting.† Thea knocked and ducked as she entered Rosamund’s room. â€Å"Roz? Can I just talk to you for a minute?† â€Å"Don’t call me that. I want you to call me Fred.† â€Å"Uh, how come Fred?† Thea sat cautiously on the edge of the bed-or not the bed, actually, the box springs. The mattress was across the room, standing on its side in a corner. The entire room looked as if it had been hit simultaneously by a hurricane and an earthquake, and it smelled strongly of guinea pig. Slowly, part of a sandy head appeared above the mattress. One green eye regarded Thea directly. â€Å"Because,† Rosamund said with terrible maturity, â€Å"I’m not a girl anymore. Things have always been this way for girls and they will always be this way and they are never going to change. And don’t give me any of that B.S. about how females hear better and do better in submarines and have better fine motor skills, because I don’t care. I’m going to be a boy now.† â€Å"You’re a smart kid,† Thea said. She was surprised at how smart Roz was, and at how much she wanted to comfort her. â€Å"But you need to study your history. Things haven’t always been this way. There were times when women and men were equals.† Rosamund just said, â€Å"When?† â€Å"Well-in ancient Crete, for one thing. They were all children of Eileithyia, the Great Goddess, and boys and girls both did dangerous stuff, like acrobatics on wild bulls. Of course†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Thea paused, struck by a thought. â€Å"The Greeks did come and conquer them.† â€Å"Uh-huh.† â€Å"But, um†-Thea wracked her brain for human history-â€Å"Well, the ancient Celts were okay-until the Romans came and conquered them. And†¦ and†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Human history was a problem. â€Å"I told you,† Rosamund said bitterly. â€Å"It always turns out the same. Now go away.† â€Å"Well†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Thea hesitated. It was the excitement that did it. The giddy feeling of everything being right with the world. It made her overconfident, made her feel as if Night World law were a little thing that could be dispensed with if necessary. Don’t, a part of her mind whispered. Don’t or you’ll be sorry. But Rosamund was so miserable. And the golden glow was still around Thea, making her feel protected. Invulnerable. â€Å"Look,† she said. â€Å"This may not help much, but I’ll tell you a story, a story that always made me feel better when I was a little girl. Only you have to keep it a secret.† There was a flicker of interest in Rosamund’s green eyes. â€Å"A true story?† â€Å"Well-I can’t really say it’s true.† And that’s true-I can’t. â€Å"But it’s a good story, and it’s about a time when women were leaders. About a girl called Hellewise.† How to cite Night World : Spellbinder Chapter 11, Essay examples

The European Middle Ages - Change over Time free essay sample

The economy has long been a major force in the development of societies for centuries. It often changes and fluctuates, consequentially resulting in the success or failure of civilizations. The economy of medieval Europe originated as that of a feudal systemdue to the dangerous and chaotic conditions of the continent at the time. By the end of the Middle Ages, the feudal system no longer being used due to its newfound inefficiency with the new situations emerging. Towns and trade began to get more popular, but society was still agriculturally based and comparatively less developed than the societies of Asia. The early Middle Ages are characterized by the Church and the feudal and manorial systems; systems in which every European’s life were centered around. In this arrangement there were kings, lords, vassals, knights, peasants and serfs. The hierarchy was that of a property owning basis. It was a land exchange for protection. During early medieval times, Europe was in a state of chaos. Muslim, Magyar, and Viking invaders devastated the continent and surrounded it from all sides. With no true government in place, people were susceptible to invasions, and then came the feudal system. When kings gave men plots of land, those men would have to provide protection for the king and the land given through knights. The system was actually extremely complex because a lord was a vassal and he could also be a knight. In addition to that, a vassal could be a vassal to multiple people and they often fought over land. After the knights were peasants, people who worked the land of their lord. Some peasants were serfs, who were legally bound to the land they were born on, but they were not slaves. The wealth of every lord came from the work of his peasants. The manorial system branched out of the feudal system and was the more economic side of feudalism. The manor was the estate of the lord and there was an agreement between the lord and the peasants who worked the land. In exchange for housing, some farmland, and protection from bandits, the peasants would maintain the estate. A manor was like a small community in the way that is was self-sufficient and had all the necessities for someone living in that time. The manor normally consisted of the lord’s house, a church, workshops, fields, pastures, and a small village for the peasants. The serfs and peasants were also able to produce most of the goods needed for everyday life. The downside of living on the manor, for peasants at least was the taxes. There were taxes on the grain from the lord’s mill, a marriage tax, and a tithe, a church tax, to the village priest. Both of these systems were rigid and social mobility was essentially nonexistent. There was much change in medieval society; some of the causes for these changes even started some domino effects. For example, there was a huge population increase around the 1000s because more efficient farming. Peasants began to rely on horses more than oxen, resulting in a faster plow. The three-field system was also being used, allowing more land to be farmed and more diversity in the medieval diet. Not only was the population increasing, but people were also living longer. Additionally, the worry of being robbed by bandits or invaded by foreigners was gone, so people could now be more independent and could travel without as much fear. Through these factors, there is a growth of towns and the decline of the feudal and manorial systems begins. The expanding towns mainly consisted of peasants and runaway serfs and weren’t as reliant on farming as they were before. This led to other professions reemerging. Local manufacturing was part of town life and the managing of the training of apprentices, the quality of products, and the prices for the goods were all controlled by a guild. Guilds had a monopoly for their trade in their town. Although guilds and towns did help, what truly had a substantial effect on society were wars and diseases. The Crusades, the Bubonic Plague, and the Hundred Years’ War caused a variety of events and eventually led to the end of the Middle Ages. Although it was technically a failed expedition, the Crusades, a series of wars for the reconquering of the holy land fed by religious zeal, had quite a good effect on Europe’s future. After the Crusades, Christians’ relationship with Muslims was severed, but trade routes to Asia opened up everywhere. The trade between the two regions led to new technologies being introduced to Europeans. Furthermore, the power of nobles decreased and the feudal system began to slowly decline over the next 200 years. An example of a flourishing city is Venice that expanded and grew rich. Despite the slightly less unpromising time after the Crusades, the Black Death devastated Europe and made it digress some. The bubonic Plague originated in Asia and had already rampaged through Asia and Africa. Entering Europe in 1347 through a fleet of Genoese merchant ships that arrived in Sicily, the plague spread all throughout Europe quickly. Over one-third of Europe’s population died because of the plague and medieval society was shattered. The population drop led to a scarce amount of workers and increased prices. Farms were abandoned and peasants living in manors demanded higher wages. The nobles refusing to the peasant demands resulted in many revolts. The plague would come in waves, so recovering and surviving more than once was difficult. While the plague struck Europe, England and France were in a war that would come to be known as the Hundred Years’ War. During the war, England used cheaper foot soldiers that used longbows to decimate the French. Knights were being defeated by lowly foot soldiers that were most likely peasants at home, making many people question the functionality of the feudal system. Ultimately the basis of the economy was moving towards trade and the success of towns and cities, ending the system that used to hold medieval society together. Like most past and modern societies, Europe remained dependent on agriculture, the class system was still similar to that of its predecessor, and when compared to other places of the time, Europe isn’t as active in trade and gaining land. A change in economic factors didn’t deviate from the need to feed the growing population. An agricultural based economy was necessary for the survival of Europeans, so that towns could grow and trade could expand. Moreover, the class system still had the king and religious leader on top because of the new sense of nationality and the fact that Europe was primarily Catholic. The class one was born into continued to define the lives of many and social mobility was still nonexistent. Whereas Europe’s trade was beginning to flourish, the trade in Asia and Africa were far beyond that. Just like in the 800s, Europe remained fairly isolated when paralleled to other civilizations. This is partly due to the strong religious intolerance. Namely, the Spanish Reconquista and Inquisition are examples of prejudice against non-Christians, implying a sense of superiority among Christians. The continent was also recently hit with a catastrophic plague, killing one-third of the population, making trade less of a priority. In the 650 years that were the Middle Ages, the economy of the time changed drastically. Europe went from having a strict hierarchy of property owning aristocrats to the growth of merchant-led towns. Nobles lost immense power and the population wavered at the mercy of new agricultural techniques and deadly plagues. Trade became an important component of the European economy, but it still remained very agricultural and not as adept in trade as its peers. The economical change would lead the continent to become on of the principal contributors to history today.